THE DATE GARDENS OF THE JERID
TOMB OF A MOHAMMEDAN SAINT AT THE EDGE OF TOZER OASIS
mud-brick village, and, after 9 miles
more of donkey back, reached Tozer.
It was none too soon, for I was well
nigh exhausted with the fatigue of be
striding all day the huge padded saddle
on which the Arabs generally sit cross
legged. After a hasty dinner, I was in
stalled in the one-storied house, built
around three sides of an open courtyard,
which was to be my home for the next
six weeks.
In the morning the first duty was to
present my credentials to the French ad
ministrator of the Jerid region. That
functionary, who enjoys the double title
of "Controleur Civil" and "Vice-Consul,"
received me courteously and detailed a
spahi to accompany me in my explora
tions of the oases. Mounted on a fine
gray horse and wearing a uniform con
sisting of a sky-blue burnous over a
white "haik" or jacket, my guide made a
picturesque figure. The one-eyed El
Hachemi ben Achmid, who spoke passa
ble French, was engaged as interpreter,
and was thereafter a constant attendant
during my stay in the Jerid. A scrawny
boy who carried the camera completed
the retinue, and without further loss of
time we started for the gardens. Cross
ing the open market-place, on which face
the modest public buildings, and winding
through a series of narrow, crooked
streets, we soon found ourselves on the
outskirts of the town. Here, in a shallow
stream, naked children were disporting
themselves, and women, with skirts
tucked up above their knees, were wash
ing clothes. We then traversed a few
rods of bare sand and plunged into the
oasis.
The transition from the blinding glare
outside to the cool shade of the gardens
was delightful. Entering one of them,
we found it a jungle of date palms,
planted in no apparent order, some so
close that the stems almost touch, and in
other places far enough apart to leave
room for little patches of vegetables and
lucern and tender young barley. Be
neath the tall palms there were other
trees-figs, apricots, and olives.
Huge grape vines hung in festoons
from the trunks, and long runners of
melon and cucumber trailed over the
ground. Here and there oranges and
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